Prodigy

Chapter 2

Naruto sighed as walked down the streets of Konoha. Really, the glares were starting to get to him. Can’t they see that he was only the jailor? As he walked, he heard snippets of conversation between villagers and even some ninja taking the day off. One particular conversation captured his attention. He heard his father’s name and thus, giving into his curiosity, he edged nearer to eavesdrop.

“—with that golden blond hair and those dreamy blue eyes, I can’t understand why no one has snagged him yet?” A redhead chattered to her friends.
“I know! He’s the number one sought-after bachelor in Konoha after all. It’s too bad he hasn’t shown interest in anyone after his wife passed away.” A brunette chimed in.
“Oh well. There’s always Hatake Kakashi, youngest ANBU captain ever. He has this mysterious air around him that just pulls me in.” The third girl, who was also a brunette, said as she giggled.
The redhead seemed to ponder for awhile, “I don’t know. I mean there was this huge scandal about his father a few years ago.”
The first brunette rolled her eyes as she replied, “Who cares? That was so long ago. Besides, Kakashi’s made such a huge name for himself that anyone who sees him will think only of his accomplishments as the Copy-cat ninja. No one will bother about his past.”
The redhead nodded in agreement, “I guess you’re right. And he is rather easy on the eyes. Then there’s also Iruka, he’s such a sweetie---”

Naruto tuned out the rest of the conversation as he walked away, lost in his thoughts. “Think only of his accomplishments, huh?” He muttered softly to himself. “If I become a good ninja and make a name for myself, will people forget about the Kyuubi too?” Naruto played with the idea inside his head for awhile before he came to a decision. He would train hard and become as strong as possible. He will make a name for himself. Only then will people start to see him rather than the Kyuubi.

Two years passed quickly without incident. Naruto had started training from dawn until dusk. He often left the house just after his father did and returned scant minutes before his father came home. He trained practically non-stop everyday, pushing his newly five-year-old body to its limits. Every morning, he would eat breakfast, pack a bento for lunch then head towards training ground 17. He had found several training scrolls in the Namikaze library which aided him in his training. Already, he was proficient in the three Academy jutsus along with a myriad of other basic jutsus he managed to find scrolls on. He also knew a few higher leveled jutsu that he weaseled out of his ANBU guardians. He had mastered the three chakra control exercises – tree climbing, water-walking and having a leaf hover over one’s forehead. Those had been necessary in order for him to master the bunshin no jutsu, which used so little chakra that for someone with large chakra stores like Naruto, required lots of chakra control. However, his favorite jutsu by far was the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, which Kakashi had taught him when he first faced the road block of mastering the bunshin no jutsu. To his delight, Naruto found that when one of his kage bunshin was dispelled, their memories were downloaded into his brain. This allowed him to speed up his learning as he could make use of his bunshin to help him master jutsu much faster. Late one night, when Naruto was training at his favorite training spot, he heard muffled cries coming from a clearing a few metres to his right. He immediately grabbed a kunai and went to investigate. His eyes widened as he say a Kumo ninja – judging by his headband, holding onto a struggling girl. He vaguely recognized her as Hyuuga Hinata, the heir to the Hyuuga clan. He immediately jumped into the unknown ninja’s path as he narrowed his eyes at him. “Please release her, sir.” Naruto requested respectfully. The Kumo nin stared at the small kid before laughing. “And what are you going to do if I refuse to do so, huh? You’re just a little brat.”

Naruto quickly formed a handseal, creating 5 kage bunshin and sent them to attack the foreign ninja. The Kumo nin’s eyes widened at the use of not the normal bunshin but the much higher leveled kage bunshin. He placed the stuggling girl onto the ground and readied himself for battle. Despite the use of a B-class jutsu, the Kumo nin was confident in overpowering the small child. He quickly took down the clones with taijutsu before his hands flashed a set of handseals. “Raiton:

-CONTINUE FIGHT SCENE-

“Don’t kill him!” Naruto shouted as he quickly threw a pair of senbon at the enemy nin’s neck, incapacitating him. “He’s a Kumo nin and most likely here for the peace talks. If he dies, the Raikage will probably demand something back as payment.” He explained as Hiashi turned towards him angry at the interruption. Hiashi pondered his words before nodding, allowing a pair of ANBU to tie up and secure the prisoner.

“Tell me, child, how did you manage to hold your own against a jounin level ninja?” Hiashi asked as he looked at the boy. To his surprise, Naruto scoffed. “Hold my own? I was getting thrashed! It was all I could do to desperately stall for time before reinforcements showed up. Besides he underestimated me, and paid for it.”
“I see” Hiashi nodded, “and what were you doing here this late at night?”
“I was training in training ground 17 when I heard Hinata-san’s muffled screams. I came to investigate and saw her struggling against the Kumo nin.” Naruto then turned to the ANBU who had just finished bandaging his wounds. “Arigatou, Crow-san.” He then stood and faced the Hyuuga clan head. “It was nice meeting you, but I should go home now. May you have a good night, Hyuuga-sama, Hinata-san.” He said, bowing to Hiashi and nodding to Hinata. With that, he jumped onto the nearest roof and headed home.

Namikaze Minato rubbed his temples as he stared at his childhood friend and teammate, Hyuuga Hiashi. “Are you telling me, that my 5 year-old son held off a jounin level ninja for more than 10 minutes?” At Hiashi’s calm nod, he exploded. “That’s impossible! Naruto’s not even entered the Academy yet! His kunai can barely hit the target, let alone the bulls-eye!” At his outburst, Kakashi, who had been leaning against the wall, spoke out coldly. “With all due respect, Hokage-sama, when was the last time you saw your son training?” That caused Minato to stop as he tried to remember. “Err, at least two years ago, I think.” He muttered, ashamed. “Then it seems like you are horrible outdated when it comes to Naruto’s skill level, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi stated bluntly as he glared at his sensei. “Naruto has been training madly these past two years, making use of the training scrolls in your library. He is proficient in all the Academy jutsu as well as most C and D class jutsu. He has also mastered a few B class jutsus, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, most notably.”

Even Hiashi’s eyes widened at that report. “That is impressive. Even the hailed Uchiha genius was not so advanced at his age.” Minato himself was gaping. “Wait, he mastered all the Academy jutsu? Including the bunshin? But with the size of his chakra stores, he would need at least chuunin level chakra control before he could master the bunshin!” Kakashi nodded, “Naruto has already mastered all three chakra control exercises.” Hiashi was staring in shock and Minato was opening and closing his mouth, unable to say anything. “If there’s nothing else, Hokage-sama, I’ll take my leave now.” With that, Kakashi leapt out of the window and went in search of the little blond prodigy.

Authors Note:
I'm too lazy to do the fight scene right now. I'll put it up some time in the future. Anyone who wants to write the fight scene for me can go ahead.